This book, by a Methodist minister with wide experience of churches in Britain and abroad, has arisen out of a consuming interest in the ecumenical movement in England over a period of years. Written in an open and attractive way, it describes the history of relations between churches since their earlier divisions, and focusses particularly on the situation at the present time. Was the church united in New Testament times, and what were the problems which caused divisions? After looking at these questions against the background of the early church and the Reformation, David Butler then looks at beliefs which have so often been in conflict in the past as they appear to others. What are the 'strange ideas' of Protestants and Catholics and why is each side so suspicious of the other? Why can't Anglicans and Methodists agree, and what about Catholics and Anglicans, Methodists and Catholics? Of course great progress has been made, and in particular growing convergence on understanding the Bible is highlighted, and the reconciliation over Reformation controversies is noted. There are also chapters on most recent ecumenical developments and on ecumenical spirituality. Then comes a description of the new scene: the role of the Black churches in the ecumenical movement, and the contribution of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements. Here is a book which any Christian can understand, and its infectious enthusiasm brings to life a vital cause which to some seems to have got bogged down with impasses or dulled by uninspiring statements reading perilously like bureaucracy.

Bound Together is a unique resource that addresses the intrinsic relationship between social justice issues and local faith and ecumenical community building. Bos articulates the theological warrants for ecumenical and interfaith ministry at a local level, showing how neighboring congregations of various denominations or faiths, simply by virtue of their common relationship to a surrounding community, have a theological connection that can cooperatively undergird joint ministry ventures. He explores how congregations or denominations of the same or different faiths can combine their resources and design a common strategy or program in response to the needs and assets of their particular community. To demonstrate, he takes a close look at both the African American denominations and the theology of the laity movement.

Michael Nazir-Ali grew up in a Muslim family and is now a Christian church leader, and this book is a clear demonstration of the shared spiritual heritage between Christians and Muslims and the points at which the two faiths diverge. The effects of the terrorist attacks in America in September 2001 polarized opinion about Islam in the West. Never was the need for understanding felt so keenly, and on the other hand suspicion and fear multiplied. The Bishop of Rochester grew up in a Muslim family and here presents in easy-to-follow question and answer format all that you wanted to know but didn't like to ask about Muslims and their beliefs. This is a useful resource for all who live, work or minister in mixed communities.

The histories of the Church of England and the Methodist Church have been linked together for 250 years. In the 1970s, a proposal for unity failed narrowly. Now relationships between Methodists and Anglicans are stronger than ever, locally, regionally and nationally. Both are committed to the search for unity. What holds them apart? This official report of the Formal Conversations that began in 1999 sets out the common ground that has been rediscovered. It shows the strength of theological agreement, but also points out significant differences that require further work. Conscious of both the opportunities and the unresolved issues, the two churches asked the Conversations to draw up an agreement that would enable them to take a significant step towards future unity. The talks gave priority to mission and evangelism and paid special attention to diversity. This report proposes a national covenant, made up of mutual acknowledgement and mutual commitment. It should consolidate at the national level the many local and regional covenants that already exist and so prepare the ground for the next vital stage on the road to unity.

"Glimpses of Grace" relates the joys and challenges of a prison chaplain through a series of one-page vignettes. The open-ended stories are written with a pastor's heart that seeks to minister to the needs and hopes of offenders who have committed serious crimes. The book takes the reader from opportunities of pastoral care to issues of relationships, authority, and restorative justice. The author explores the challenges of ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue while remaining true to his Christian faith. He looks at ministry from the perspective of volunteers and writes about how staff can be an ally in corrections. He regards offenders as subjects who define the nature of the pastoral relationship.Donald's high view of ecclesiology and solid theological background give this book a unique perspective. Don regards the chapel community as a natural extension of the visible body of Jesus Christ of which the larger church is a part. Don considers how offenders' experiences and other faiths can make one a more devout believer. The profound experiences of the "other" make one look more deeply into the resources of one's own faith.

Revered for his long service, charismatic presence, and unwavering commitment to the ecumenical movement, Archbishop Anastasios here returns to his missionary roots and offers a new paradigm for Christian mission today. Fully engaged in the realities of contemporary religious pluralism as well as secularism, Anastasios nonetheless sees an opportunity for a more honest sharing of the faith that is directly relevant to the spiritual quest, moral dilemmas, and social needs of our planet. Co-published with Holy Cross Orthodox Press, Massachusetts.

In recent bilateral ecumenical dialogue the aim of the dialogue has been to reach some form of doctrinal consensus. The three major chapters of the book discuss the variety of forms of doctrinal consensus found in ecumenical dialogues among Anglicans, Lutherans and Roman Catholics. In general, the dialogue documents argue for agreement/consensus based on commonality or compatibility.
Each of the three dialogue processes has specific characteristics and formulates its argument in a unique way. The Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue has a particular interest in hermeneutical questions and proposes various forms of "differentiated" or perspectival forms of consensus. The Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue emphasises the correctness of interpretations. The documents consciously look towards a "common future," not the separated past.

The Vietnam War and its polarizing era challenged, splintered, and changed The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC), which was motivated by its ecumenical Christian vision to oppose that war and unify people. The NCC's efforts on the war exposed its strengths and imploded its weaknesses in ways instructive for religious institutions that bring their faith into politics. "Embattled Ecumenism "explores the ecumenical vision, anti-Vietnam War efforts, and legacy of the NCC. Gill's monumental study serves as a window into the mainline Protestant
manner of engaging political issues at a unique time of national crisis and religious transformation. In vibrant prose, Gill illuminates an ecumenical institution, vision, and movement that has been largely misrepresented by the religious right, dismissed by the secular left, misunderstood by
laity, and ignored by scholars outside of ecumenical circles.

At a time when the majority of scholarly work is committed to looking at the religious right, Gill's groundbreaking study of the Protestant Left is a welcome addition. Embattled Ecumenism will appeal to scholars of U.S. religion, politics, and culture, as well as historians of evangelicalism and general readers interested in U.S. history and religion.

This is a collection of writings on the Eucharist by one of the most important theological thinkers of our time. The theology of John Zizioulas presents a beautiful vision of the Church as Eucharistic communion, in which human persons both are gathered into Jesus Christ and are sent back into the world. In his previous books, Zizioulas focused on the way this communion is related to the communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which calls us to understand being as communion and provides the only foundation for otherness and identity. With its sustained attention directly to the Eucharistic communion, this volume provides the context for those discussions. Zizioulas here explores the biblical dimensions and eschatological foundation of the Eucharist, the celebration of the Eucharist by the Church, and the ethos of the Eucharistic community. These essays are provocatively concrete and practical, showing once again that Zizioulas' teaching on persons, communion and otherness has radical implications for the life of the Church and its relationship to the world.

Not a penny for the missionaries. Keep politics out of it. Why do you fund guerrillas? Are you Oxfam with hymns? These are some of the characteristic doorstep responses that have been and are still made to Christian Aid, especially during its great fund-raising activity of the year, Christian Aid Week. They indicate that there is a good deal of ignorance and confusion about the way in which Christians respond to poverty. This book attempts to provide some basic information, in an attractive way, about how churches and church organizations around the world have tried to make an effective response to the poor over the past half-century. It discusses the main issues in a thematic way, looking in particular at controversies that surround church-related aid, relief, mission and development agencies in the first world. Among the topics treated, using case studies and ecumenical statements, are the wholeness of Christian mission, the links between personal action and political action, and the ambiguities of power. Other contemporary challenges addressed are doubts about aid in the persistence of poverty, the scale of emergencies in Africa and the churches' ability to respond to them, competition or free market charity and compassion fatigue. In conclusion the book suggests what it means to respond to poverty in a Christian and ecumenical way and draws out some implications for the future. Published in collaboration with the World Council of Churches. Michael Taylor was Director of Christian Aid.

This is a rich collection of fifteen articles by European, North American and Asian theologians who are concerned with the concept, life, unity and future of the church. It offers a wealth of broad perspectives on ecclesiology by scholars from Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox backgrounds. The first section, 'Perspectives on Ecumenical Ecclesiology', comprises reflections on postmodern ecclesiologies as well as on the development and problems concerning ecumenical methods and models of unity. The second section, 'Communion Ecclesiology and Otherness', provides some pertinent deliberations on how an ecclesiology of communion can integrate otherness. In particular, Zizioulas' communion ecclesiology is critically examined, the possibility for a retrieval of Eucharistic theology between Catholics and Orthodox is put forward, and Tillard's communion ecclesiology is appraised as offering resources for innerdenominational otherness. The final section, 'Ecclesiology in Global Contexts', considers critically the possibility of evangelical ecclesiology as an answer to ethnic impaired Christian community. The role of the (Catholic) Church and its values in Europe and vis-a-vis the European Constitution is examined. The Church of Nigeria's Constitutional Revision (2005) and its ecclesial- ecumenical implications comes into focus, and three notable concepts of unity, as developed by three Indian scholars, S.K. George, John Sadiq and Karem David, are evaluated. Finally, the Japanese diaspora in the States is appraised as a place where a particular Japanese Christian vision could emerge through the "internationalist ecclesiology" developed by Japanese Christian missionaries. >

The riches of the Jewish year with its high holy days, its times of preparation and celebration are opened up for all in this anthology of prayer, arranged in forty sections, which draws deeply on the Hebrew scriptures, the Old Testament and the Jewish spiritual tradition. Christian readers will be enriched by a deeper encounter with the roots of their own faith and the patterns of prayer and worship by which many Christian rituals and observances are shaped.

Description: By all accounts, the modern ecumenical movement is not moving much these days. Despite dramatic breakthroughs in the past few decades, the quest for a visibly united church--in which there is common confession of the apostolic faith, full Eucharistic communion, and mutual recognition of members and ministers--now meets with indifference by many, impatience by some, and outright hostility by others. In part, this is because the movement has not given enough attention to grassroots ecumenical engagement. This book is written to convince ordinary Christians, especially young Christian adults, that they too have a stake in the future of the ecumenical movement as its most indispensable participants. Ecumenism Means You, Too draws on the music of Irish rock band U2 to cast artistic light on various aspects of the quest for Christian unity. Whether one is a U2 fan or not, and whether one thinks the ecumenical movement is a good thing or a bad thing for the church, everyone who reads this book will learn something about the Christian theological framework apart from which neither the modern ecumenical movement nor the meaning of U2's music can be understood. The book includes an annotated bibliography of resources for ecumenical engagement and a glossary of key ecumenical terms for readers who want to learn more about the Christian practice of seeking the unity of the church. Endorsements: ."" . . at once profound and straightforward, deeply reflected yet highly accessible, theologically rich yet directly practical . . . a source of wisdom to be absorbed into the life-blood of each of our widely differing communities for their mutual enrichment . . . a superbly inviting and practical manifestation of what has come to be referred to as Receptive Ecumenism."" --Paul D. Murray Durham University, UK ""Whether you are passionate about, disappointed by, or indifferent to the church: if you love God, you need this book. Harmon shows you why mutual tolerance is not the unity that Jesus desired for his Body, and he gives you the tools to start knitting back together the broken pieces of the church-so the world might believe. This little book should be the marching orders for every Christian "" --Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Institute for Ecumenical Research, Strasbourg, France ""Few books on the ecumenical movement are as readable, and I would wager none has as appealing a soundtrack. Harmon invites us to strive for the hope of fuller visible unity with sisters and brothers in Christ, not by ignoring denominational differences, but by acknowledging what divides us while refusing to settle for division. The 'Ten Things You Can Do for the Unity of the Church' list alone is worth the price of the book."" --Beth Maynard co-editor of Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog About the Contributor(s): Steven R. Harmon teaches Christian Theology at Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. A member of the Baptist World Alliance delegations to the international theological conversations with the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches and a plenary member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, he is the author of Towards Baptist Catholicity: Essays on Tradition and the Baptist Vision (2006). He blogs about his work in ecumenical theology at www.ecclesialtheology.blogspot.com.

This book is ecumenical, interreligious, and metareligious in nature. It may have a provocative title, but it is the subtitle that says what the book is really about. The book is not simply an attack on religion, but offers ideas for improving religion, any religion. It defines what makes a true religion, in the most positive meaning of the term, and what makes a cult, in the most negative meaning. Rather than just pointing fingers, however, the book introduces the six criteria that make a religion, even a minority religion a true religion, and these ideas can be used to improve every religion by its believers, or by those who are priests, monks, rabbis, mullahs, religious people of any kind, or theologians. This book is for everyone, with religious ideas applicable to all religions, even Islam - in fact, the author justifies the applicability and necessity of the book by citing both the Qur'an and Muhammad. This book can increase or promote interreligious dialogue, and in a way that does not offend anyone in particular. It could also give new lustre to all religions with followers and clergy with an open mind.

First major book-length study on this subject written by a Protestant in more than a century. / The dogma of papal infallibility has become increasingly problematic for Roman Catholics, and it is a major point of division in Christian ecumenical dialogue arguably the key issue separating Catholics and other Christians today. Mark Powell here contends that papal infallibility has inevitable shortcomings as a way to secure religious certainty. After introducing the doctrine, he illustrates those limitations in the life and writings of four prominent Catholic theologians: Henry Edward Cardinal Manning, John Henry Cardinal Newman, Avery Cardinal Dulles, and Hans Kng. / The book concludes with a fresh proposal for conceiving religious epistemology, ecclesial authority, and ecumenical agreement. Powell's Papal Infallibility is an accessible, critical study for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

This book argues that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, locked as they have been over the centuries in many kinds of mutual enmity and violence, now need to join resources to resist the destructive economic and political forces now on the loose across the globe, some of which distrust among these faiths has tended to intensify. Such a project requires relational practices among the faiths, all of them based on mutual moral commitments that draw on the respective communities' scriptural traditions of covenantal promise-keeping. That is, each tradition has a gift of responsibility, both to its God and to its people. Mudge wants to plumb the resources of each of these religions and encourage them to be responsible in taking these gifts seriously.Such relational practices are hardly used as resources in interreligious dialogue. Mudge contends that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are called to practice moral hospitality and covenantal humanism in order to foster justice and responsibility in societies around the globe.

Cosmic Grace, Humble Prayer presents the powerful ecological vision of Patriarch Bartholomew, drawing together a comprehensive collection of his church statements and occasional addresses, some available in English only here. This second edition provides an updated selection of letters and addresses by the Patriarch, including such statements from 2003 to 2007. / Editor John Chryssavgis has organized these pieces chronologically and thematically, highlighting particular points of interest and importance. In addition, he provides a substantial historical and theological introduction to the initiatives and writings of Patriarch Bartholomew that also invites readers into the unparalleled environmental perspective of the Orthodox Church.

Apostolicity Then and Now explores apostolicity from its origin to today. Apostolicity is a undamental mark of the Church, referring to Jesus' faith given to, carried on, and taught--unaltered--by a continuous line of apostles. This book primarily focuses on how apostolicity pertains to the Church as whole and views apostolic succession in light of how apostolicity is applicable to the Church. Scriptural, historical, theological, and ecumenical contexts provide a thorough study that includes worldviews and their impact on apostolicity. Chapters are "Who Were the Apostles?" "Why the Early Churches Understood Themselves as Apostolic," "Apostolicity in History," "Apostolicity and the Theologians," "Apostolicity and the Classical and Modern Worldviews," "Apostolicity in a Postmodern World," "Apostolicity in Ecumenical Dialogue," and "Apostolicity in an Ecumenical Church."